Because they don’t tell you everything on reality television we are here to reveal the secrets of Extreme Couponing. TLC’s Extreme Couponing is really not about education it is more about entertainment. Our goal is to educate you and empower you to save money for your family.

We have been talking about how one of the myths of couponing is that coupons are only for processed foods, junk food or food my family does not eat. I also told you we were featured in the New York Times Magazine and many of the people writing in the comments accused us of only eating junk foods. All of this brought me to the conclusion that some people just need to be educated in the way we save money on food and still eat healthy. This week I am going to talk about how we buy our meat for less.

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Buying Meat for Less

There are 4 key ingredients to saving money on meat. First you have to know your price points, second you have to find a sale, third you must stock-up and fourth you must preserve your meat.

Price Points

You have to know your price points if you are going to save money on meat. Refuse to pay more than a certain set good price. For example I will not pay more than $1.99 for boneless skinless chicken breast, and I do not stock up on it until it is $1.88 or less.

Find a Sale

I know that my grocery store will have a sale on chicken at least once every 6 weeks. So I wait for that sale. I also buy from Zaycon because they generally can bring chicken in for a lower price than my grocery store. The other nice thing about Zaycon is there meat is fabulous. Zaycon chicken is never frozen and comes fresh from the farm. HOT READER TIP: Find out when you local store marks down their meat, then buy it when it is marked down.

Stock-up

At my grocery store I will buy enough chicken to last until the next sale so that I do not ever have to pay full price again. Sale cycles on meat run at least every 6 weeks. (Learn more about Sale Cycles).  When Zaycon comes to town I buy at least a 40 lb box, sometimes I buy 3 boxes and split them in half with a friend so I will have 60 lbs of chicken. I have found that 60 lbs of chicken can last my family of four 6 months.

Preserving Meat

Freeze Your Meat - If you buy enough meat to last 6 weeks or 6 months it will certainly spoil in your fridge. So we recommend freezing it. Freezing meat will keep it fresh for a long time. Check out the recommendation for Safe Freezing Time.

Preparing for Freezing – When I buy meat from my grocery store meat counter I typically have the butcher package my meat in dinner portions. For my family of four I typically cook with about 1 lb of meat. So I ask for 1 lb packages of meat. When I buy from Zaycon I package my meat myself. Check out my video that shows you how to prepare meat for freezing.

Tools for Freezing Meat – When I freeze meat I use ziploc freezer bags or my Foodsaver. The more air you can get out when freezing your meat the more you are protected from freezer burn. I love my Foodsaver because it gets all of the air out, and my meat stays fresher longer.

Canning Meat – Canning meat is also an option. I have never tried it myself, but I have heard that this is a fantastic book here if you want to learn to can meat. The nice thing about canning is that you do not have to worry about losing your meat if the power goes out and the freezer thaws.

Dehydrating Meat – I love my  food dehydrator. Dehydrating meat is a great way to make jerky. Check out our video tutorial on how to make homemade jerky.

More Tips for Freezing

• Safely Thawing Foods
• Foods you can freeze
• Temperature Guide for Safe Grilling Meat

 Bonus Coupon Tip

When couponing if you are earning catalinas it is a great idea to use your catalinas to help you buy meat. Be sure you are still getting a good price though.

• Read more tips to answer your couponing questions or get more Extreme Couponing Education tips.
• Get a quick start on Extreme Couponing done right with our coupon class on DVD!

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